Venezuela To Present Oil-Backed Cryptocurrency Petro to OPEC in 2019

Venezuela will present its cryptocurrency Petro to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2019, in order to make it “the future of oil transactions worldwide,” Minister of Petroleum Manuel Quevedo said Wednesday.

“We will use the Petro in OPEC as a safe and reliable currency to sell our oil in the world”, said Manuel Quevedo. “We will introduce the Petro in the first quarter of 2019 as the world’s oil trading currency, selling all of our products in it”, said the Venezuelan Oil Minister.

Quevedo also added that Petro will be offered as a unit of account for global crude oil trading, noting that all Venezuelan oil will be traded for Petro.

He also called on airlines and shipping companies to register in the “digital wallet” where they can make the necessary transfers. “The gasoline for planes, ships, we will be selling it in Petros. It is the currency of Venezuela,” he said.

By early November, the oil production in Venezuela was 1.2 million barrels per day. According to the forecasts of the International Energy Agency at the end of the year, the yield may drop to 1 million barrels per day.

The sales of the Venezuelan cryptocurrency Petro started in February 2018. Its value is equaled to the price of domestic oil and is close to 60 USD.

However, some experts, journalists, and economists are skeptical about Venezuela’s coin. A Reuter’s report claimed that Petro was not backed by oil nor mined anywhere in the country. The news agency also cited former Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez who wrote that “the petro […] only exists in the government’s imagination.”

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